Chapter Three – "You know you love your brother's boyfriend's brother when..." PART ONE
____Kerry's Point of View____
So, as per Sum's instruction, we had snuck from the Ravenclaw tower and headed in the direction of the Gryffindor portrait hole, as we approached, we found that the corridor was empty... Or so we thought. Ray was in front of us, keeping his determined eyes on the portrait hole, as if willing it to swing open. His wish however, was far from answered when, much to our surprise, a head of flame red hair appeared in mid-air, apparently disembodied; Summer had 'borrowed' Harry's beloved invisibility cloak for the occasion.
"You guys kept me waiting." She giggled quietly, trying to refrain from waking the Fat Lady, who was dozing gently in her frame an empty box of liquor filled chocolates at her feet, beckoning us forward "I've been here since we came back from the feast."
Since Sum's head appearing in front of us, Bob had neither moved, nor said a word; he remained staring at the point where she had appeared, apparently in shock. Ray took it upon himself to move his best friend.
"Come on, Bobbie, we need to get moving, otherwise we're going to get in trouble." Ray was terrified of getting into any kind of trouble, in the four years since we had started Hogwarts, never had Ray been in trouble with any teachers and that included Professor D.
Summer threw the invisibility cloak over the three of us, leaving herself exposed – not that it mattered; as a Gryffindor, she had every right to be standing outside of her own portrait hole after hours, Bob, Ray and myself on the other hand should technically have been in our own tower, across the school.
Obviously, the word had been spread to those of us who were determined to enter the Tournament; Frank, Gerard, Mikey, Sophia, Ellie, Bella, Harry, Ron and, the one person whom did not seem happy to be here; Hermione.
The second we each took our seats, Summer took up her position in front of the small group, ready to begin, Operation Lionheart, (Cool name, right? That's what she had concocted in the Hall with Bella and Ellie.)
"So, ladies and gents, I'm sure you all know why we're here." She began bravely, the facade ruined by the fact she kept shooting glances at the foot of the stairs that led to the dormitories. This was soon nullified when Harry produced from his pocket, a worn sheet of parchment; the Marauder's Map. He touched his wand to the parchment and muttered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The phrase worked instantly and the map of Hogwarts School spread across the page.
So, Summer continued. "Right, yes, anyway. We have all decided that we wish to enter the Triwizard Tournament this year. That includes us girls, Frank." She whispered triumphantly, her eyes blazing with a fire of passion for the daring and wild. Frank sat, on Gerard's lap, glaring at his sister, appalled at the very suggestion, Gerard's face wore a similar mask of horror, and oddly enough, so did Mikey.
"Before you carry on, Summer. Are you quite sure you-" Began Hermione, timidly, but, her sentence was never finished; the glare from Bella ended the sentence in her throat.
"Hermione, I am very sure about this. If you aren't so sure and you are willing to let your friends continue with this discussion without your help and guidance then, please, feel free to leave!" Sum murmured dangerously; I was not the only one who began to back away from the fiery red head.... Almost everyone had, and that included her brother. Hermione did not back down she stood her ground, almost nose-to-nose with Sum.
"I would rather die than not help my friends, but I do not wish to sentence them to death." Hermione stated, wrapping her arms around her knees as she took up her seat on the rug beside Harry's chair.
"Hermione, you're a brilliant witch; it's possible we mightn't be able to accomplish this without you. We need your brains." Grinned Frank in Hermione's direction, apparently pleased by the fact there was not going to be all out war in the common room thanks to his twin.
"As Summer was saying, we have each made the choice to enter the Triwizard Tournament. We have gathered here tonight to make a list of the things we need more information about..." Bella said loud enough to be heard by our small gathering.
"Indeed, so, what do you guys think?" Summer added, recovered from her meeting with Hermione. We were silent for a moment, each of us intent on thinking of something worthwhile to bring to the discussion.
_____Summer______
I watched my family and my friends each begin their contemplation of the task I had set for them. Emotions had evidently been running high this evening, and after my confrontation with Hermione, I too was seeing the situation in a very different light. My eyes roved around the group; firstly to Frank, my blood, my brother. Of course I loved him dearly, we were one. As twins, we shared the bond: our lives were entwined in ways more complex than the mere sharing of a surname or a birthday, It is difficult to explain. We were more than just brother and sister, the fact that we were twins had created something stronger; we seemed to know what the other was thinking, what the other wanted and even more annoyingly, we seemed to have some inclination as to where the other was, and given that when Frank was not at home, he was with Gerard, then it was kind of sickening to cope with the loved up atmosphere with the two of them around.
My eyes next met with Gerard's golden eyes, he had been watching my stationary pose for several minutes, deep within his eyes, I was able to see the worry and pain that dwelt deep in his soul; a pain and worry not only for his beloved boyfriend, but his brother, too, and to a further extent, me. I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile and continued with my examination of the other people around me.
At Gerard's side, Mikey sat. His demeanor was anxious and, when his eyes caught mine; he blushed scarlet and dropped his nervous gaze to the threadbare carpet beneath his feet. As suddenly as the scarlet had blazed in Mikey's cheeks, a new found emotion rose strongly in my chest; it was a curious mixture of sadness and anxiety. I could not be wholly sure of the feelings, however, I was confident that it could mean one of few things; either I had begun to feel sorry for Mikey, I had lost all confidence in his prodigious magical skill or, scarily enough, I had fallen head over heels in love with my brother's boyfriend's brother.
Discreetly, I shook my head and spun on my heel, and drew my gaze to my small collection of friends; Bella, Ellie and Sophia. Since we had started Hogwarts, these three girls had been like family to me. Each of them I held dear to my heart. Bella and I were kindred spirits; we were more alike than people originally thought – at home, we shared the same taste in movies and music, whereas, in school, we were as good as each other in our lessons. The only difference being the lesson; my particular specialty was Charms; her's was in the field of Transfiguration. Quite ironic when one looks at the fact that she was a Gryffindor and the Head of our House, was the Transfiguration Professor. Ellie was the friend whom I knew that I could rely on for advice on anything, regardless of the topic. Finally, I faced Sophia. She was a complicated person to comprehend; she could at times be spiteful, selfish and downright arrogant. However, on her good day, Sophia was the sweetest person I had ever had the opportunity to meet.
The others that had gathered around me, I was glad to see; Harry, Ron and now, Hermione, were three Gryffindors who were respected throughout the school. It was a relief to know that these three wizards were more than willing to aid us in our efforts to enter the Tournament.
I soon came to the realisation that I had been stood motionless for over five minutes and had been staring at a piece of wall above Gerard's head for the vast majority of that time. It therefore came as no surprise that everyone gathered was staring intently at me, ready for the meeting to continue.
"Sum, I think it's a brilliant idea. But, I don't think you should enter." Frank said quietly, avoiding my eye. Surprisingly, I had been expecting this reaction from my brother. However, he wasn't the only one to speak up about unhappiness with the situation.
"Frankie, if you don't want Sum to compete, then, I say I don't want you enter." Came a timid voice. I turned to see Mikey staring at Frank angrily. Each one of us stopped to stare wonderingly at Mikey. Never before had he spoken to Frank in such a way. Gerard actually peered around Frank's back to get a good look at his younger brother.
When Mikey ultimately realised what he had said, his face flushed and he immediately began to amend what he had said. "What I mean is, if you were to enter and you got hurt, then Sum would be heartbroken. That's why I don't think you should enter. I don't you to get hurt, nor do I want to see your sister hurting." He explained. Frank seemed content with the explanation and, with a nod at me, I continued.
"Mikey, Frank; listen, it is, at the end of the day our own choice if we wish to enter this contest. I'm glad that you have voiced your opinion on the matter, any other wishes?" I began, my eyes sweeping the group quickly; I noted Bob's holds on Kerry tighten and Hermione's eyes dart to Ron and then Harry, yet neither of them said a word. I took this as a sign that because of the recent argument between us that she did not wish to disrupt the proceedings. "Has anyone got any ideas about what kind of thing we need to know more about?" I added, addressing the whole group.
Several of those around me raised their hands. Bella included. I nodded to her first, knowing at least her suggestion would be applicable.
Nervously, she stood, and began to speak. "I think that, an obvious place to start would be figure out how each of the Champions is chosen." She said simply, smartly sitting down once she had finished. Faces turned towards her, each of us impressed by her quick thinking.
Next, I turned to the only other hand that was raised; Ray. "Now, isn't everyone thinking one thing, how are we supposed to get through the precautions that Dumbledore is setting up?" He sighed incredulously, sitting up a little straighter in his chair and staring around the dimly lit room as though this was already obvious. It was at this point that, Harry spoke for the first time.
"I think we have just the two people who could tell us about that." He chuckled, with a final glance at the Map. "Fred, George; the game's up. You better come and join us!"
At his words, Fred and George crept around the foot of the dormitory stairs, apparently having listened to every word of the debate. George took up a seat on one side of Ron; Fred on the other hand sat next to Harry, looking rebellious and to a certain extent, disgruntled. Neither of the Twins spoke for several minutes; mutinously, the stared into the fire, apparently contemplating a hasty escape through it. Finally, Harry cleared his throat, nudged Fred in the ribs, and at long last, he spoke.
"Fine; George and I are pretty good at doing things that aren't necessarily what this school sees –" He began with a glance at his Twin,
"What this school deems to be normal. Polite. Whatever. Pick one. Anyway, this means that we have become very good at making such things as… well, Age Potions. These are some of favourite things to make…" George smirked, joining Fred in front of the fire.
In the time both the Twins had been speaking, I had sunk down onto the moth eaten rug in front of Frank and Gerard, my head resting against Mikey's leg. As I made to stand up, I saw that Mikey's hand had moved swiftly back to his lap, as if he had been reaching out for the top of my head.
I thanked them both, before checking my watch and realizing that it had been two very long hours since we had started this meeting, and, given that three of our number was in Ravenclaw, it was dangerous for them to cover the distance back to their own tower.
"Now, Harry. You know I don't like asking you for this, but, they'll get into real trouble." I pleaded with Harry as we began the tidy-up of the common room. Harry grinned at me and disappeared up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. Moments later, he returned, the Invisibility Cloak stowed in his hands. I resisted the urge to hug him and hurried over to Bob, Kerry and Ray who had been waiting nervously by the portrait hole.
"See you at breakfast," I called after them as they disappeared. My attention was returned to my own needs when I became suddenly aware of how deathly tired the day had made me.
I caught Bella and Ellie by the elbows and headed up the staircase with a call of goodnight to the others.